Lupita Tovar, a Mexican-born movie actress with more than 30 film credits who became part of Hollywood royalty as wife of producer Paul Kohner, died at her Los Angeles home at 106.
Lucy Tovar, her niece, confirmed the Saturday death on Facebook, according to Variety. Tovar was grandmother of "American Pie" directors Chris and Paul Weitz and was the matriarch of an entertainment family that included actress Susan Kohner, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 1959 for her role in "Imitation of Life."
Among her 31 film credits, Tovar starred in the Spanish-language version of "Dracula" in 1931, which the Library of Congress selected for film preservation in the National Film Registry.
In 1932, she starred in the melodrama "Santa," or "The Saint," in which she was promoted as "the sweetheart of Mexico," said the Washington Post. She also performed alongside stars like Henry Fonda and Gene Autry in other movies.
"Her skills were put to use, however, in Spanish-language versions of Hollywood fare," said the Post's Adam Bernstein. "The films were made at Universal, with the Spanish-speaking crew working overnight after the English-language cast had clocked out."
"The idea — often credited to Universal executive Paul Kohner, Ms. Tovar's future husband — was to tap into the Latin American market demand for sound films and make them at a fraction of the cost of the originals; the sets were already built."
Tovar married Kohner in 1932, said the Post. As an agent, he represented high power clients like Fonda, Yul Brynner, David Niven, Lana Turner, and director John Huston. Kohner died in 1988.
She was also the mother producer Pancho Kohner, who is survived by along with Susan Kohner, noted the Post.
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